Cyber ​​attack on Washington Post: Journalists targeted by hackers!

Cyber ​​attack on Washington Post: Journalists targeted by hackers!

On June 16, 2025, The Washington Post was the target of a serious hacker attack that may have targeted journalists' email accounts, according to Wall Street Journal reports. The incident, which occurred on Thursday, immediately caught the attention of Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray, who confirmed the circumstances of the attack. An internal company was hired to lead the investigation and analyze the newspaper's security situation.

The attackers particularly targeted the Microsoft accounts of journalists who report on national security, economic policy and China. Overall, the incident prompted a series of actions, including a reset of login credentials for all Washington Post employees, which was implemented on Friday. Affected journalists were contacted directly and asked to change their access details immediately in order to minimize possible damage.

Background of the attack

The identity of the attackers remains unclear, but it is suspected that a foreign government may be behind this cyberattack. Because of their extensive contacts and access to sensitive information, journalists are often targets of cybercriminals, especially state-controlled hackers. Matt Murray noted that this is the second cyberattack under his leadership. The first incident occurred in 2022 and affected News Corp, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, where information of interest to the Chinese government was also stolen. The perpetrators of the first attack have not yet been identified.

Such incidents are particularly troubling for The Washington Post, which was acquired by Jeff Bezos for $250 million in 2013, as the newspaper has seen significant declines in online and brick-and-mortar traffic in recent years. Revenue fell from $190 million in 2023 to just $174 million in 2022, a dramatic development for a renowned US newspaper that faces numerous challenges in an election year.

Response and security measures

To address the security incident, The Washington Post has stepped up its security measures. In addition to resetting the passwords, additional authentication procedures were also implemented in order to be better equipped against such attacks in the future. The company is also working with cybersecurity experts to better understand the causes of the attack and optimize appropriate security precautions.

In the context of the increasing number of cyberattacks on media companies, this incident shows that large news organizations are also increasingly the focus of international hackers, who often focus on journalists reporting on geopolitical issues or authoritarian regimes. Loud WinFuture The Washington Post is not the first media outlet to fall victim to such an attack, underscoring the urgency for increased security precautions.

The Washington Post will now closely monitor how the situation develops and what further measures need to be taken to protect its journalists and information in order to prevent similar incidents in the future. taz reports of the challenges that need to be overcome in view of the current security situation.